According to the latest survey by Cheaphotels.org, Sacramento is currently the most expensive city in the United States for hotel accommodations, This year’s results, however, were heavily skewed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The survey compared hotel rates across 50 urban destinations in the U.S. Average rates for the least expensive double room during October 2020 for each destination were determined and only centrally located hotels with a 3-star rating or higher were considered.
Sacramento topped the rankings with an average price of $131 for the most affordable double room. Cincinnati and Phoenix complete the podium, with average rates of $118 and $112, respectively. Business travel destinations such as Boston, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. were most heavily impacted by the virus, with hotel rates for many dropping more than 50% compared to the same time last year. (for the 2019 results of the survey,please click here )San Francisco and New York City are priced even cheaper—about 60% lower compared to 2019—with average rates of $78 and $73 for the most affordable room,
Destinations that are less dependent on foreign visitors such as Cincinnati and Sacramento are more affordable by about 30%. The least significant COVID impact is recorded in Jacksonville, Indianapolis and Fresno, with hotel rates dropping by less than 10% in those cities.
The following table compares hotel rates of 50 urban destinations across the United States. The prices shown reflect the average rate for each city’s cheapest available double room (minimum 3-star hotel) for the period spanning 1 October through 31 October, 2020.
- Sacramento $131
- Cincinnati $118
- Phoenix $111
- Boston $110
- Pittburgh $109
- El Paso $107
- Charlotte $107
- Portland $106
- San Jose $105
- Jacksonville $105
- Cleveland $105
- Detroit $104
- Philadelphia $101
- Indianapolis $101
- Denver $100
- Miami $98
- San Diego $96
- Fort Worth $95
- Houston $94
- Dallas $93
- Kansas City $92
- Mesa $91
- Oklahoma City $90
- Atlanta $90
- Austin $89
- Los Angeles $88
- Orlando $88
- Tucson $88
- Nasville $88
- Honululu $87
- St.Louis $87
- Omaha $87
- Columbus $87
- Memphis $87
- Louisville $86
- Raleigh $85
- Washington DC $84
- Seattle $84
- Albuquerque $82
- Chicago $79
- Minneapolis $79
- Milwaukee $79
- Tulsa $79
- San Francisco $78
- Fresno $78
- New York City $73
- New Orleans $70
- San Antonio $67
- Baltimore $64
- Las Vegas $35
About the Methodology
The survey considered all 36 destinations in the USA with populations of > 500.000, as well as 14 selected destinations with a population of > 250.000. For each destination, the average price for the cheapest available double room was established for the time period 1 1-31 October 2020. Rates were compiled during late September using hotel comparison website Kayak. Only centrally located hotels (downtown or close to downtown) rated at least 3 stars were considered.
